William e



(No Model.)

W. R. CLOUGH.

) BUCKLE. Ila 286,264. Patented Oct. 9, 1883.

INVENTOR 7km Q9, 64 5 BY La,

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT tribe.

VILLIAM It. CLOUGH,

OF :NEIY YORK, N. Y.

BUCKLE.

SIECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,264, dated October9, 1883.

Application filed July 11, 1883. (No model.)

To (ti/Z whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. OLoUeI-r, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles orFastening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in buckles or fastening devices;and it consists in anovel construction of both the attaching andadjusting side thereof. Its nature and advantages will appear in fullhereinafter, and are indicated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 represents atop edge, a front plan,

and an end edge view, of a buckle embodying the elements of theinvention. Figs. 2 and 3 are front plan and edge views, illustrating themethod of applying the strap or webbing to the buckle. Fig. 4 is an edgeview, showing the webbing drawn up from the upper edge of the buckle, asin the act of loosening or tightening the same. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 areplan views of certain modifications of the buckle shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A denotes the buckle, which, in the present instance,is made of a single piece or rod of wire bent to form the loop B, the.dividing-bar G, and the inwardly extending arms DD, havingrearwardly-pro jecting extremities e e, which, by preference, will besharpened or pointed, so as to more positively engage the webbing.

The loop 13 may be rectangular in outline, or of other configuration, asmay be preferred or convenience dictate, and the bar 0 is formed, asrepresented,by bending the two portions of the wire to a point about thecenter of the buckle, and then from said point outward again, afterwhich they are folded toward each other over said bar, forming the armsD D, and providing a space, f, between said arms and the bar 0. Theinner ends of the arms D D are properly separated to admit of thewebbing being inserted into the space f between them, unless it isotherwise preferred, and their extremities c 6 may be bent rearwardly inany manner which will insure their contact with the webbing. The twoparts of the wire forming the bar 0 may be soldered at theirmeetingpoint a,- or the said parts maybe twisted or tied, as indicatedin Fig. 6, or merely pass each other, as shown in Fig. 5, the mainconsideration being only that the separating-bar of the buckle be formedby bending the two opposite portions of the metal toward each other,and, having formed the bar, continue 011 or back to form the remainingportion of the buckle or frame.

The buckle illustrated in Fig. 7 is essentially the same as that shownin Fig. 1, being different from it only in having the central portion ofthe arms D D depressed toward the bar 0, as indicated at d d in Fig. 7The depressions d d operate to preserve the webbing in a fiat condition,and to retard its working from the buckle when the webbing is slack.Upon the lower bar of the buckle is provided a projection, a, extending,in the present instance, toward the bar 0, and the purpose of which isto preserve the strap in a regular position on the said lower bar bypressing into or protruding through the same, or by being embedded intothe stitching. \Vithout the projection a the strap, especially when itis of linen or thin material, is'likely to gather in either one or theother lower corner of the buckle; and to effect ually remedy this defectis the purpose of the proj ectiona. This result may be accomplishedwhether the projection it extends inwardly or outwardly; but I preferthat it be arranged as shown in Fig. 7

When the buckle hereinbefore described I is in use as asuspender-buckle, the buttonhole ends m will be secured in the loop B,and the main strap or webbing a, after passin over the shoulder, isfirst inserted through the loop B from the rear side, then passed upwardand through the space f from the front and there left, being secured bythe points 6 e, as shown in Fig. 2; or the end of the webbing may befinally folded downward over the arms D D and passed through the loop Bfrom the front, as indicated in Fig. 3, this latter method beingpreferred for neatness and other advantages, although the webbing willbe effectually held in either arrangement.

The simplicity of the construction of the buckle and of the method ofapplying the webbing thereto is apparent.

In the manufacture of the buckle the best results are secured byextending the points (a c in rear of the line of strain on the buckle,as

in such arrangement the tension of the strap or web acts to press thelower portion of same very firmly against the arms D D.

I deem the separation of the points 6 e of great advantage, since theypermit the insertion of the webbing into the space f edgewise betweenthem; but their separation is not essential to the successful employmentof the buckle, as the webbing could be passed into the space f endwise,in the same manner as it is insertedthrough the loop B. The separationof the points 6 0 also forms a convenient space for permitting thewebbing to be pinched between the finger and thumb and drawn upward, asindicated in Fig. 4, for the purpose of tightening or loosening thesnspender, according as the tension is then exerted on the part thereofwhich passes over the shoulder or upon the free end.

It is an incident to the construction of the buckle that the directstrain on the same draws the opposite parts thereof toward each other,and the proper relation of same is thereby preserved and the fasteningmade thoroughly effectual. V

It is to be noted that in order to employ the buckle in the mannerhereinbefore described, the teeth 0 6 must project rearward at a properangle to engage the strap or web when its tension is toward the centerof the buckle. It will be seen, also, that there are two thicknesses ofthe web in rear of the binding-bar of the buckle. One of the thicknessesis caught by the teeth 0 6, while the other serves as a guard. In theemployment of thin webbing it is possible, were only one thicknessbehind the binding-barof the buckle, that the teeth would projectthrough the same and injure the flesh or clothing. When two thicknessesare employed, however, this is impossible.

I do not confine myself, of course, to the manufacture of the bucklefrom a single piece of wire, since a similar construction may beproduced from two or more pieces of wire; or the buckle may stamped froma piece of sheet metal, and the points or teeth 0, or a bitingedge,fashioned thereon or applied thereto; neither do I confine myself to theemployment of a single separating-bar, 0, nor to the use of the bucklein connection with a suspender, as it may be employed in like mannerwith Vest and pants straps, or for other purposes.

I broadly disclaim buckles constructed with teeth or points (on theouter bar or arms) ex tending inwardly, substantially in the sameperpendicular plane to said bar or arms; but

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A buckle or fastening device, consisting of the loop B, theseparating-bar O, and the arms D D, whose extremities are pointed andproject rearwardly at substantially a right angle and in the samehorizontal plane with the arms D D, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

2. A buckle or fastening device, consisting of the loop B, theseparating-bar O, the arms D D, whose extremities are pointed andproject 'rearwardly at substantially a right angle and in the samehorizontal plane with the arms D D, the lower bar of the buckle beingprovided with a, projection, n, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 7th day of July, A. D. 1883.

e YVILLIAM. R. CLOUG-H. \Vitn esses:

hills. 0. GILL, HERMAN Gn'siow.

